Harburger transporter

Harburger transporter is the name for a series of small transporters, which were sold both under the label name Hanomag and/or Hanomag Henschel and under the name Mercedes Benz. The history of the vehicles goes back on the construction of the model Matador of the company Tempo into Hamburg Harburg. Speed was taken over 1965 of the Hanomag, produced starting from 1966 the vehicles under the name Rheinstahl Hanomag. After the parent company Rhine steel had fused their two commercial motor vehicle manufacturers Hanomag and Henschel 1969 to Hanomag Henschel, the vehicles were produced from now on under this name. In the year 1970 Hanomag Henschel was bought again by Mercedes Benz, so that the vehicles became to provide now also with the Mercedes star.

The first vehicles, which (starting from 1967) were not sold no more under the name Matador, received the designations Hanomag F 20, F 25, F 30 and/or F 35. The permissible total weights lay between 2000 kg and 3550 kg. Diesel or petrol engines was inserted alternatively, whereby the diesel engines of the Hanomag came and were bought to go with the petrol engines by the English company Austin. The drive took place on the front axle. The Harburger transporter was built as box cars, plank bed cars and minibuses.

Starting from 1969 the Harburger transporter under the name Hanomag Henschel was driven out. The use of Hanomag engines ends 1970, since diesel engines of Mercedes Benz become assigned, while the petrol engines continue to come from Austin. Likewise since 1970 the transporters are available also as Mercedes. Hanomag Henschel and Mercedes models were produced parallel, them were completely identically constructed. For Mercedes Benz the Harburger transporter was one want-comes rounding of the existing vehicle program downward, in this class was not represented Mercedes up to then. As Mercedes the vehicles received the following Typbezeichnugnen: L 206 D, L 207, L 306 D and L 307.

Since the work was working at full capacity in Hamburg Harburg with the production of the transporters, these models were built starting from 1969 additionally in the former Borgward work in Bremen which had taken over the Rheinstahl Hanomag from the bankrupt's estate of Borgward.

Contrary to the VOLKSWAGEN the engines of the Harburger transporters were appropriate for bus with its unpractical tail engine concept in front, so that a continuous even loading area could develop. Nevertheless the success of the Harburger transporters did not hand VOLKSWAGEN by any means to that of the bus near. A further important competitor was Ford transit.

In the year 1975 the last vehicles under the name Hanomag Henschel were built, under the name Mercedes Benz ran the manufacturing until 1977. At this time the Harburger transporter had become outdated, to Mercedes Benz with the successor long time already hopeless had left themselves. With this it concerned the Mercedes Benz T1, which was called also of Bremen transporter; it concerned thereby a complete reconstruction.